The Howell Blessings

The first Sunday of each month Harvest church serves communion. During the time that the sacraments are being shared to the congregation, reflection and prayer is encouraged. This morning I had an understanding of the  phrase, "If you aren't for Me, you are against Me."  It hit me. We were God's enemy, yet He loved us so much, He sent his son to die as the sacrifice for our sins so that we might be saved from eternal death. I'm not sure I have any earthly enemies, but there have been a few people in my life that I didn't care for, and honestly I can say I'm glad they aren't in my life anymore. I'm okay with not having them around, not even wondering what happened to them.  But God couldn't do that to His enemies (i.e. us). He couldn't stop thinking about us. He couldn't stop loving and caring for us. He wanted us to spend eternity with Him!! So He sent His only son to be the ultimate sacrifice, to shed His blood  to cover our sins so ...

November 25th is the day in which Americans express thanks on a most famous holiday called Thanksgiving...well, we used to anyway. For many, it has just become a day to overeat and watch football. I'm not saying we shouldn't do those things...well we could cut back on how much we eat..... Nah. Anyway, the point of Thanksgiving is to give thanks to God for the many blessings that we receive each year. So many of us tend to remember the bad things that happen to us and the really good big things like a promotion or the birth of a new baby, etc. But how many of us are truly thankful for the daily blessings we receive? How many of us can give thanks for the good things that happened to us as a result of something bad happening first? For example, like when I had the opportunity to get quiet and draw closer to God because of being home during chemotherapy treatments, or how a family can bond together closely after the passing of a loved one. Hard times make the good times even sweet...